Inquisition "Bloodshed Across The Empyrean Altar Beyond The Celestial Zenith"

I won't be typing that album title again during this review.  From here on in I will just refer to it as "Inquisitions' latest offering" or other more such succinct descriptions by comparison.  Not that the title is a cause for a moan, as it suggests the entire thirteen tracks on offer here showcase their fare share of "bloodshed", infer numerous occasions of ritual sacrifice and take the listener far "beyond" any current "celestial" plain on which they may currently dwell.

The fact is that at album number seven Inquisition are virtually unstoppable.  They are at that point in their career when some scribes are tipping them for mainstream (metal) success - which I feel unlikely - as the accessibility of their material attracts more new fans than it does piss off old ones! The fact is though whilst there isn't any other band in BM that manages to use melody so effectively and consistently, there is much more to the sound of Inquisition that requires any fan to actually stop what they are doing, sit down with a pair of headphones and truly get lost in some majestic yet abrasive extremity.

There is an intro, an outro and a coda on offer here.  Each of them using varying measures of drone, alien ritualistic radio babble and dark ambience to good effect.  Three tracks that distinguish well the beginning and culmination of an otherwise relentless and exhausting experience.

That isn't to say that the celestial expansion that takes place during this record is spread over lengthy and meandering compositions.  The longest track clocks in at around six minutes (from memory) and yet the structural integrity of what Inquisition manage to do over the course of a four or five minute piece is as solid as you would expect any band (or in this case duo) to accomplish after twenty years together.  There's no particularly technical intensity to the riffs that are employed by Dagon or the to blasting fury of Incubus' drumming.  The simple aspects that underpin most of what happens here are enhanced by the arrangement, by the subtle time changes and by the nods to influences of the past.

For all the familiar "bending" to skew a little more effect and depth out of a riff there's an obvious thrash influence to tracks like "A Black Aeon Shall Cleanse", as well as more rock n roll feel to the drums of "Power From The Center of the Cosmic Spiral".


New things on this record?  For me it is a much more rich sounding affair that manages to thicken up the sound without washing away the minimalist edge to proceedings that give Inquisition their truly evil edge.  Vocally, Dagon seems stronger this time out and reminds me more than ever of Abbath.  In addition to his superb croaking delivery a nod to Dagon's guitar playing needs to also be afforded as this Inquisition album is all about the riffs, melodies and leads.  It is these that drive things forwards with the thundering hooves of Incubus to carry them along nicely.  The title track seems to replace vocals with near sonic firings of lead guitar to drive the tempo and pace of the track as a whole.

The term is often overused in reviews and not always applied appropriately but in this instance Inquisition truly can be described as a band at the top of their game.  To me there's no question that this is their finest hour, yet to bill them as the next mainstream breakout act seems as unnecessary as it does inaccurate.  They are stronger than say the Watains of this world (and arguably more focused too), but are doing a fine job of practicing their dark arts from where they are already.

5/5

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